What is the WhatsApp 24-hour window, and what does it mean for hotels?
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a business can reply freely for 24 hours after a guest's last message. Outside that window it can only send a pre-approved template message. For hotels, that means the first pre-arrival message, and any message after a quiet spell, has to be an approved template.
Biteluxe · updated September 2026Twenty-four hours from the guest's last message.
Each time a guest messages you, a 24-hour window opens. Inside it you can reply however you like. Once it closes, the only way to start the conversation again is a template message that Meta has approved in advance.
The first message is a template.
A guest who booked weeks ago has not messaged you, so the first pre-arrival message is a template. It still has to sound like your hotel. We shape each template in your voice and submit it for approval. Once the guest replies, the window opens and the conversation flows.
Staff alerts follow the same rule.
If your team receives alerts from the same WhatsApp number, the same rule applies to them. An alert to a housekeeper who has not messaged in a day needs a template too, so we plan for it when we route requests.
Guests reply.
Across our portfolio, replies to pre-arrival conversations range from 33% to 79%.
Follow-up questions
Who approves the templates?
Meta reviews each template before it can be sent. We shape each one in your voice and submit it.
Does the window reset?
Yes. Every time the guest messages, the 24 hours start again.
Other questions hotels ask.
Should hotels send pre-arrival messages by WhatsApp or email?
Both, for different jobs. Email keeps the record, and a conversation gets the answer.
Read the answerWhen should hotels send pre-arrival offers?
Between 24 and 72 hours before arrival. Positive response peaked at 51.2% the day before.
Read the answerHow do hotels message OTA guests who have no phone number?
Use the number where it is real, and ask for it at the first touch where it is missing.
Read the answerWhat are your guests trying to do that is harder than it should be?
Bring us the action, the brand, the awkward systems and the operational reality. We will shape the message for each channel and build the easiest route through them.
Show us where guests get stuck. Nothing to prepare. Sometimes the honest answer is that you do not need us.